320 recycled loudspeakers - old and new, big and small – put together in one massive sculpture in the form of an amphitheater: This is the current installation of US-born artist Benoit Maubrey at the Pallasseum in Berlins district of Schöneberg.
“With my interactive loudspeaker sculpture, I bring the Berlin air to oscillate and let the Berlin snout vibrate. The sculpture is fun, fantasy and interaction”, explains Maubrey the concept of his loudspeaker installation. The sculpture can be presented both as a “Speakers Corner” — a low-key “hotspot” for local participation and self-expression, but also function as a stage for small events and concerts. Everyone, from young to old, from big to small, can interact by relaying messages and songs via Bluetooth, individual smartphones, or by connecting their devices via a direct "line in". In this way the ARENA, as the installation is called, becomes "democratic art” or as Maubrey likes to call it: "audio graffiti".
Benoît Maubrey studied visual art at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. and moved to Germany at the end of the seventies. He first migrated to Munich. “A local friend gave me the key to his Charlottenburg apartment with the words: "Benoit, you have to go to West-Berlin!". This is how I ended up living in this vibrant city”, tells Maubrey. Placing himself in the wild experimental 1980's Berlin scene, Maubrey started experimenting with acoustic and electronic equipment. With the fall of the Berlin wall, the artist got internationally recognized for his interactive sound sculptures and wearables. Since then, he has exhibited all over the world. However, this is the first time that he exhibits such a massive sound sculpture in Berlin.
The public can interact with ARENA in three ways:
1) by calling either one of the following telephone numbers (limited for 3 minutes): 0178 8382615, 0178 8382618
2) by logging on to the following Bluetooth addresses and playing music and messages: Belkin E 14; Belkin Song Stream BT F82... N.B. (Please regulate sound volume on your smartphone so as to not distort sound)
3) or simply by using the available microphone.
Location: Pallasseum, Pallasstrasse 5 (near the corner of Potsdamerstrasse)
Until 30 October 2019
More information:
http://speakersarena-berlin.de/index.php/zwitschermaschine/
Remark: 10.09.2019 telephone numbers updated and links added.